St. George, N.B. — Marine Harvest has announced it has entered into a share purchase agreement to buy Northern Harvest, whose head offices are currently based in St. George.
Northern Harvest is a fully integrated company with its own broodstock, smolt/hatchery, farming sites and processing operations. The potential acquisition supports Marine Harvest’s long term strategy of being a world leading and integrated producer of seafood proteins.
The acquisition price on a cash and debt-free basis is $315 million (CDN), and the intention is that the consideration will be paid in cash using available credit lines under Marine Harvest’s existing revolving credit facility.
The company is expected to harvest 19,000 tonnes (GWE) of salmon in 2018, and has currently 45 farming licenses in Newfoundland and New Brunswick, as well as an additional 13 farming licenses in application mode.
The transaction is subject to approval by relevant competition authorities and customary closing conditions.
Marine Harvest, globally, produces one-fifth of the world’s farm raised salmon at facilities in Canada, Norway, Scotland, Chile, Ireland, and the Faroe Islands.
Globally, the company employs more than 12,000 people and, in Canada, operates salmon farms on the coast of B.C. and Vancouver Island, where 530 people produce 45,000 tonnes of salmon each year.
The company’s salmon are four-star certified to the Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices, and Marine Harvest was the first company in North America to have a farm certified to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council salmon standard. Marine Harvest is the supplier of Sterling brand salmon.
